Thursday, September 29, 2011

Continuous Monitor

Today, my endocrinologist set me up on a loaner Dexcom 7.

I've had a CGMS before; a Medtronic that linked to my pump. That was 2 years ago. Suffered a number of problems with it: it wasn't accurate, it hurt terrible going in, and the adhesive on it would quickly expire. I tried it several times over a two year span but eventually frustration got the better of it.

So as of now, the D7 has been jacked in for about 9 hours, and feeding data for a couple fewer.

To start with, insertion pain was much reduced. It's still nothing that I'd say feels good, but it's less painful than my pump and far better than the previous CGMS. As accuracy goes, it's better but still not great. Right around 100-120, it's pretty accurate, but highs and lows seem to be greatly exaggerated. A 140 this afternoon showed as 180. An 80 before dinner was flashing a low that bounced around the low 50s. But so far I haven't seen it report a high as a low, or been wildly off base. Too soon to call adhesive good, but it's better.

One thing I didn't expect, and admittedly is easily resolvable, is that the belt loops on my pants are quickly being used up. Pump takes one, D7 takes one, and in some cases, my regular meter takes one. Think I'd be more willing to stick the D7 in my pocket if it weren't a loaner.

For the last half hour, D7 says I'm in the low 70s. I had a moderate-high carb dinner of a meatball sandwich and a cup of fruit. According to the CGM, I never broke 150. Meter say 85: 77 vs 85, pretty good!